Impulsive Buying and Sustainable Purchasing Behavior in Low-Cost Retail: Evidence from Multinomial Discrete Choice Models in Metropolitan Lima

Luis Eduardo García-Calderón, Augusto Aliaga-Miranda (), Esther Rosa Saenz-Arenas, Wesly Rudy Balbin-Ramos and Héctor Raul Valdivia-Mera
Additional contact information
Luis Eduardo García-Calderón: Faculty of Business Sciences, Universidad Científica del Sur, Lima 15067, Peru
Augusto Aliaga-Miranda: Faculty of Engineering, Universidad Tecnológica del Perú, Lima 15046, Peru
Esther Rosa Saenz-Arenas: Faculty of Business Sciences, Universidad Científica del Sur, Lima 15067, Peru
Wesly Rudy Balbin-Ramos: School of Postgraduate and Continuing Studies, Universidad Privada del Norte, Lima 15083, Peru
Héctor Raul Valdivia-Mera: Faculty of Business, Universidad Peruana de Ciencias Aplicadas, Lima 15023, Peru

Sustainability, 2025, vol. 17, issue 18, 1-23

Abstract: This study analyzes the determinants of impulsive buying behavior in low-cost retail stores in Metropolitan Lima, with particular emphasis on psychological, economic, social, and personal factors. The research draws on survey data collected from 380 consumers aged 18 to 39 belonging to socioeconomic levels B and C who had made recent purchases in discount stores. Data were gathered through a structured and validated instrument and examined using ordinal logistic regression and multinomial discrete choice models. The dependent variable, impulsive buying, was measured through three dimensions—remembered, suggested, and pure—while explanatory variables were classified into low, medium, and high categories. The empirical results demonstrate that psychological and economic dimensions exert a strong and positive influence on impulsive consumption, whereas social factors show no significant effect. Personal factors, though less consistent, also reveal a positive role. Diagnostic tests, including robustness checks, confirm the stability of the estimations. Beyond its marketing relevance, the findings contribute to the sustainability debate by highlighting how understanding impulsive behavior can guide the design of retail strategies that foster responsible consumption, reduce the risks of over-spending in vulnerable households, and support inclusive and resilient consumption practices. Thus, the study links the analysis of changing consumption patterns with broader sustainability goals in emerging urban contexts.

Keywords: impulsive buying; responsible consumption; low-cost retail; multinomial logit; sustainability in emerging markets (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/17/18/8395/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/17/18/8395/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:17:y:2025:i:18:p:8395-:d:1753028

Access Statistics for this article

Sustainability is currently edited by Ms. Alexandra Wu

More articles in Sustainability from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().